Dubai-based portals Bayut and dubizzle, owned by Emerging Markets Property Group (EMPG) are planning to recruit 200 more people to fuel its expansion in the country.

The headcount at the two firms will increase by 50 per cent following its latest recruitment drive. Bayut and dubizzle currently employ 400 people in the UAE.

“This strategic expansion in the UAE comes as part of the wider goals of Bayut & dubizzle’s parent company, EMPG, to attract the best professionals from the region,” the two companies, said in a statement on Tuesday, without providing a timeline on when they plan to hire more people.

Last year, EMPG and Amsterdam-based OLX Group announced merger of their businesses in Mena and in South Asia to create a firm with assets worth Dh3.6 billion ($1bn).

Apart from the UAE, EMPG manages classified portals in Pakistan, Bangladesh, Morocco, Tunisia and Thailand. It is also active in Egypt and Lebanon.

The company is “keen to attract and retain talented professionals who can help us to create competitive advantages and .... contribute towards shaping the future of the technology sector in the Mena region,” Haider Ali Khan, chief executive of Bayut & dubizzle, and head of EMPG Mena said.

Dubai-based EMPG is also aiming to create 200 additional opportunities in other markets such as Pakistan, Lebanon and Egypt, according to the company.

“Our focus remains to provide a ... platform for growth with a work culture that is inclusive, supportive and gives ... opportunity for development,” the director of HR for bayut & dubizzle, Suzanne Gandy, said.

EMPG has been expanding steadily across the region over the past few years. Last year, it acquired Lamudi Global's operations in the Philippines, Indonesia and Mexico for an undisclosed sum.

Start-ups in the Middle East and North Africa secured record funding of more than $1bn in 2020, according to data platform Magnitt.

A Series E fundraising by EMPG last April was the region’s biggest funding round. It raised $150m.